Josh Brolin on being the meanest Man in Black

Josh Brolin sits back on the sofa in his Beverly Hills hotel suite, hands clasped behind his head. He’s been asked to assess the past five years of a successful career, and it gives him pause for a few moments, before he answers.

“I am on a good run these days,” the 44-year-old says modestly, lifting his head from his hands in what seems to be a statement of both relief and pride.

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It’s relief because he suffered through a decade-long slump made up of cornball TV movies and films that faded fast before he managed a string of good performances in high-profile movies.

The pride comes from those assorted roles since 2007. He starred in the Coen brothers Oscar-honoured movie No Country for Old Men, playing the doomed small-town Texan on the run. The same year, he acted opposite Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster.

The high point arrived when Brolin received a supporting actor Academy Award nomination for his part in Gus Van Sant’s Milk in 2009. He portrayed real-life San Francisco supervisor Dan White, who assassinated colleague Harvey Milk (Oscar-nominated Sean Penn) and Mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber).

He also earned good reviews for his role of George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s 2008 biopic of the former U.S. president, and for playing the dim-witted killer in the Coens’ 2010 western remake True Grit.

According to Brolin, the degree of difficulty increased considerably with Men in Black 3, which opened May 25.

In the action comedy, Agent J (Will Smith) is forced to travel back in time to save Agent K (Jones) from being murdered. That’s when Agent J reconnects with a much younger Agent K (Brolin): Their mission is to stop an alien invasion mastered by the monster from another planet, Boris (Jemaine Clement).

Brolin had to imitate Tommy Lee Jones, pretending to be Agent K when he was less glum and more fun. It was a delicate balance. “I’m still not sure I got it right,” he admits.

Typical of the Men in Black series, humour and sci-fi special effects are blended by director Barry Sonnenfeld, with Brolin’s portrayal the unique addition. His performance, however, isn’t as effortless as it seems. “There was a lot of work and a lot of fear,” Brolin says.

To get into the challenge, Brolin screened Men in Black multiple times. He also watched many more Jones movies, and constantly listened to tapes of Jones in various roles, including The Executioner’s Song and Coal Miner’s Daughter.

Then, just before filming began, he came to a shocking realization: “Tommy’s voice is like an elusive instrument somebody made up, and nobody knows how to play.”

Even on set, he anxiously prepared scene by scene as though his acting life depended on it.

“I never felt like I nailed [it],” Brolin admits. “I would have the headphones, and I would be studying, and they’d call me to do a scene.”

He shouldn’t be too concerned. Sonnenfeld and Smith offer lots of praise for his effort. “I spent a great deal of time telling Josh it can’t be an impersonation,” Sonnenfeld says. “And it wasn’t; it was more.”

Adds Smith: “I knew going in Josh wasn’t supposed to be just like Tommy, but a lot of the time he was identical, which helped me a lot.”

Both Brolin and Sonnenfeld shared a common dread: What if the fans hate them for breaking up the Men in Black team? “It turns out we will be OK,” Sonnenfeld says.

“I still don’t know if Tommy liked it or not,” Brolin says of his role. In a separate interview later in the day, Jones confirms it: “I do like it.”